Letter to the Editor: Columnist's definitionof courage questioned

Courage must mean different things to different people. I am referring to a column written by Christine Flowers that appeared in the Sunday Times. She is so happy to throw rose petals at the feet of U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., while she lays the medal of courage on him.

After reading the article, I wondered what exactly did she see in her examples of "courage" that were worthy of this crowning, placing him above most others in the Senate?

Yes, Sen. Toomey did co-sponsor a bill with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., (who has not given up the fight) to require background checks on gun sales at gun shows. That actually did not require much "courage" when, according to national polls (CNN), 94 percent of Americans want background checks. So, when you are taking on 6 percent while 94 percent of Americans have your back, how much "courage" does that actually take? Who among those in the 6 percent do you need to fear voting against?

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What would make this fall into the category of courageous? Continuing to fight for the will of the 94 percent? Well, in an interview Sen. Toomey gave to the Centre Daily Times a few weeks after his bill was defeated 54-46 (defeated despite winning a majority vote), he said "defeated ideas rarely resurface ... I can't point to people who might change their vote."

Sen. Toomey makes a good point. We can tell by the fact that the Republicans in Congress do not bring up defeated ideas, at least, not more than 40 times when trying to end the Affordable Care Act. Background checks -- one vote and move on. But repeal Obamacare -- 40 votes and a cost to taxpayers of $50 million and counting.

I wrote to Toomey to seek his support on this year's budget. He was polite in his response but talked about the doom and gloom awaiting our kids and grandkids with the "looming deficits and debt." Sounds scary, huh?

What Toomey failed to mention was that the deficit is actually "down" 37.6 percent in the first 10 months of the budget year, according to the Congressional Budget Office. And while the deficit rose to 10.2 percent of GDP in 2009, it is now only 4.2 percent and is projected to fall to 2.1 percent by 2015. The GDP is only part of the good news that shows the economy is growing, as jobless claims have not been this low since before the recession began in November 2007.

The American people are not stupid. They are highly intelligent. So, when 60 percent believe that the deficit is still continuing to increase when it is actually shrinking at a faster rate than anyone could have predicted, this can only mean one thing -- that politicians are intentionally misinforming the American people.

Remember that old saying, "tell a lie long enough and loud enough and people will begin to believe it?" Dishonest and courageous are not synonyms.

What Toomey is selling now is the latest manufactured crisis where the sky is falling and Congress must act today to cut Social Security, Medicare and defund Obamacare!

It would take a lot of courage to spread factual information like how Social Security is solvent for the next 30 years and cannot possible go bankrupt, according to Forbes, or that Medicare is totally solvent through 2026, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Instead he continues peddling misinformation that the "sky is falling," that we must cut Social Security and then give Grannie and Grandpa coupons to go find some company to cover their medical conditions instead of Medicare, which they earned and currently have.

It would take a great deal of courage to fight against the cuts to the elderly nutrition program, from which the sequestration has cut 19 million meals, according to Meals On Wheels. Voting to take food from the mouth of a disabled, elderly or seriously ill shut-in doesn't take courage unless, of course, you have to go to that person, look him in the eyes and tell him why you are protecting billionaires over feeding him. Now that would take guts.

Remember when our senators and representatives were inconvenienced by sequester budget cuts that caused long lines at the airports? In less than 48 hours we had a bipartisan agreement to exempt the airports from budgets cuts. Long lines gone! Maybe these people in need of meals just need to inconvenience our politicians -- then they would actually notice them.

When Congress finally gets back to work after their five-week vacation and struggles to put in their nine days of scheduled work for the month of September, we can all look forward to listening to them talk about shutting down the government and once again spreading the misinformation that the "sky is falling," and how our children and grandchildren are doomed to the point where we must cut more from the poorest and most vulnerable. How did we become a country that actually envies and wants to punish poor people? America was always better than this. Always.

Sen. Toomey can show us his courage now by how he reacts to the two crises the far right is inventing and planning: the debt ceiling and the budget. No one has forgotten the disaster they caused in 2011 that caused the U.S.'s credit rating to be downgraded. Taxpayers are still paying millions in higher interest rates and trying to recover the lost money in their retirement and savings plans from when the market took a big hit with that stunt. Good job!

Christine Flowers has a right to her opinion. We all have that right. I just do not actually agree with what she thinks equals "courage." I'll leave the badge of courage with our troops, police, firefighters, Red Cross volunteers, and volunteers who take care of the poor, where, in my opinion, it belongs -- not with politicians spreading a political agenda to protect special interest groups and mislead the American people. Remember there is a difference between a politician and a public servant. Sen. Toomey has become a politician.